Monday, March 31, 2014

Revival of Anarchy ... Calls for ... Invasion

"The ministry of interior has asked us to disband, but we are not willing to. It is like asking a man to become a woman, as it is normal that any man wants to protect his homeland.""The government gave up Crimea without a shot and now it is facing further trouble in the east of our country and not doing anything about it."Major Viktor Kulyk, deputy commander, Ukraine National Guard

Supporters of the right wing party
Pravy Sector (Right Sector) protest in front of the Ukrainian parliament
in Kyiv on March 27, 2014.
- [GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images]

Guards are on duty wearing military fatigues at Kyiv's newly-created national guard headquarters. A map on the wall in an operations room on the headquarters interior flags their units from Lviv in the west to Donetsk in the east. In total the national guard numbers roughly 3,000 men prepared to mobilize speedily, should the anticipated Russian invasion begin.

Originally known as "hundreds", reflecting the fact that each unit was comprised of 100 volunteers, the militias began as self-defence units formed to protect the crowds in Independence Square from former President Yanukovych's security police. A month later, the militias now represent a challenge, a growing one, to the new government. In their numbers they still parade in formation around the Maidan, armed with clubs and sticks.

Supporters of the right wing party
Pravy Sector (Right Sector) stand ready during a protest in front of the
Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv on March 27, 2014.
- [GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images]

Joining them are other militant enthusiasts whom their critics describe as the unemployed, and ne'er-do-wells, society's antisocial elements, thugs. Yesterday's revolutionary heroes become the gangsters of the future. Pravy Sektor, the largest of all the militias claiming to have access to weapons looted from government armouries, is widely considered to be made up of such elements.

The death of one of their senior leaders, Okeksander Muzychko on Monday, shot dead by police as he purportedly resisted arrest, has set the stage for a collision between the Right Sector group and authorities. Right Sector's leader, Dmytro Yarosh intends to run as a candidate in May's presidential elections. His militias marched on parliament on Thursday and Friday, threatening to attack unless Arsen Avakov, the interior minister resigned.

On Vladimir Putin's very own cable news and Internet service, the Russia Today network (RT), which is "absolutely independent", of government, and especially does not serve Vladimir Putin, RT describes the Ukrainian government as illegitimate and dangerous. RT describes "Ukraine's coup-imposed government", and "the coup-installed authorities" and "the February military coup which brought ultra-nationalists to power".

Ultra-nationalists being code for fascist.

One online heading this week said "Democratic vote, govt without fascists needed in Ukraine before any talks." The station reported that a gang of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists robbed passengers on a Russian-Moldova train and took possession of items only from people carrying Russian identification. Another report claimed under the heading of "Revival of anarchy" that vigilantes in eastern Ukraine have been hunting down people they accuse of being "pro-Russian thugs", and beating them.

Setting the stage for Russian troops to enter stage left to rescue their Russian compatriots from threat of harm, or worse, from the fascist Parvyi Sektor militias. Oh, of course and from the fascist Ukrainian government.

This represents a general opinion site for its author. It also offers a space for the author to record her experiences and perceptions,both personal and public. This is rendered obvious by the content contained in the blog, but the space is here inviting me to write. And so I do.